HTPC With an ATX Motherboard?

I'm looking at building a 'budget' HTPC. I see most of the cases used for an HTPC, only fit a M-ATX (micro / mini) motherboard. Is there a case that will suit a HTPC, that will also fit a full ATX board inside it? I really don't want to have to use a full tower case because it really does defeat the object.

Re: HTPC With an ATX Motherboard?

Originally Posted by Clarky

How about this, whats the smallest size chassis that will fit a full size ATX motherboard?

Erm... an ATX one? Not sure what you mean tbh. I suggest you just look at a few etailers, compare the sizes of various cases, and pick one you like the look of. To quote Wikipedia: "A full size ATX board is 12 in × 9.6 in (305 mm × 244 mm).", so you're never going to find a particularly small case for a full ATX motherboard...

Re: HTPC With an ATX Motherboard?

I built an HTPC out of my old desktop parts simply transplanted into a Silverstone LC17. At £90.26 it's not 'budget' budget but it looks understated and stylish in my living room and it's easy to work on if I get the urge to fiddle.

Re: HTPC With an ATX Motherboard?

Originally Posted by Clarky

Why is it that that cheap Ebuyer case looks better than anything over &#163;50. I don't get it.

I guess aesthetics really are personal. Thanks for the input.

Case design is about much more than just aesthetics - for instance, the Ebuyer case only has 2x60mm rear fans (and probably cheapo ones at that), so they'll be a lot noisier than a single 120mm equivalent in order to achieve the same cooling performance.

Most people would consider noise to be a bad thing in an HTPC, but it's quite hard to juggle low noise AND efficient cooling AND compact dimensions AND low cost, particularly if you have some high-powered (hot) components inside, and that's before you start considering things like build quality, finish and styling.

On the other hand, if you're looking to build on a budget a lot of ebuyer's extra value cases are more than up to the job, and will save you some money to spend elsewhere on your build. Personally, I'd use that saving to get a decent, branded PSU like an Antec, OCZ, Corsair, Enermax etc (there's plenty of build threads in the hardware section that have good PSU recommendations).